Chinchilla Community Forums
Chinchillas => Health => Topic started by: BambiLove on November 17, 2010, 12:53:05 AM
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I was doing some research and I've read that pawing at mouth is a sign of illness. So i was wondering what does pawing at mouth look like? Because my chinchilla does that a lot but I thought he was just cleaning his mouth...since he usually does it after he eat or when he's doing his usual cleaning routine (biting paw/fur/cratching his back). He would put 2 front paws on his mouth and then wipe them down to his chest. When he does that, it's usually 2-3 times in a row. Each time, he would turn a little bit to make sure that he get the other side of his mouth. I'm not sure if that's pawing at the mouth. Everything else is normal, he's active and is eating his food, stool is normal, teeth are yellow/orange.
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they do clean their mouth, say, when eating or after a bath. my chins wipe mouth with just one paw quite often, rather than full on two paws wiping!
i just adopted a chin with serious teeth problem, she does paw (not her mouth, but her chin, this is because she has a root growing through her chin) and it looks just like mouth wiping with a single paw.
it does sound like yours is just cleaning himself but if you're worried, take him for a check up - better safe than sorry! Thing about teeth - colour is important as an indicator your chin has enough calcium, but, you also need to check the length & shape/alignment to make sure they're not overgrowing or not meeting properly.
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Yup sounds to me too that he is just cleaning.
If it were his teeth and he was pawing for that you'd most likely see wetness as well. They drool and continuously paw the mouth in obvious discomfort when maloccluded.
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i love it when they do that, start at the whiskers and go all the way down, cleaning them up.. so cute..
as for just pawing at the mouth, alittle of that here and there is also normal.. not sure if that is also cleaning or what, but it's normal.
you also have the cute nose wipe... rofl
its when they do it alot, or like deb said, water eyes, mouth..etc... means problems..